Woman charged with animal cruelty

Lola's bones jutted through her infected, sore-covered skin. She tried to eat twigs that fell beside a tree. She could barely walk.

That's what Police Officer Matthew Medeiros saw when he found the yellow Labrador retriever. Medeiros questioned the woman who was walking Lola near her Boynton Beach home Wednesday night.

The officer stopped Josephine Brandle about 11:15 p.m. in the 600 block of Asbury Way. She was arrested on a felony charge of animal cruelty and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. Brandle, 54, was released Thursday evening.

Her son, Thomas, who lives with her, said police exaggerated Lola's condition. Thomas Brandle, 22, said his mother, who works as a waitress, cooked chicken and steak for the 5-year-old dog.

"She loved that dog, she loved it with all her heart," he said, "Lola was happy when my mom was around."

According to the police report:

"She feeds the dog ramen noodles to try to fatten the dog up," Medeiros wrote. "I was able to clearly see the dog's skeletal structure, especially the spine and rib cage area."

Brandle told the officer that Lola had never been to a veterinarian. She said she didn't have any dog food. Lola slept in the bathroom and her water bowl there was empty.

Police brought Lola to the Boynton Beach Animal Control kennel and took Brandle to jail.